Emigrating to a Foreign Land! Worth it?

This is a discussion on Emigrating to a Foreign Land! Worth it? within Shifting gears, part of the Around the Corner category; Hey guys,
I finally wrapped up my GMAT exam and have started the application process.
I'm targeting UK, Switzerland, France, ...

Any consultants similar to Y-Axis out there that can help me find a job offer for the USA this year? I'm almost about to pay Y-Axis for their job-search and resume marketing deal, but wouldn't mind trying extra avenues.

I'm afraid this is incorrect. I've myself lived in Canada and became a citizen too. One is eligible to apply for OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) as soon as one lands in Canada. No matter when that is issued one is not entitled for the benefits of the card until 90 days, since landing, are over. Usually, if one applies, say after a month of landing in Canada one would get the OHIP card in time in order to start using it from the 91st day of landing. Moreover, eligibility don't usually have a window of time but definitive number of days.

I'm afraid this is incorrect. I've myself lived in Canada and became a citizen too. One is eligible to apply for OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) as soon as one lands in Canada. No matter when that is issued one is not entitled for the benefits of the card until 90 days, since landing, are over. Usually, if one applies, say after a month of landing in Canada one would get the OHIP card in time in order to start using it from the 91st day of landing. Moreover, eligibility don't usually have a window of time but definitive number of days.

Hi there!

My wife and I have seriously considered immigrating to Canada in a few years. And, we are preparing ourselves to apply for the FSW/QSW program soon.
I have a few questions about immigrating to Canada. Hope you can help with some of them.

1. How important is French while considering immigration? We are learning French at the moment, niveau A2.
2. Does a masters degree help in getting better points while applying for the Visa? We are B.Tech's with 7+ years of experience in IT.
3. If neither of us(wife and I) have worked before in Canada, does that substantially reduce chances of Immigration?
4. Best possibility of immigrating to Canada, through consultancy? Or the FSW/QSW visa programme? Chances of getting a job through our companies in Canada are next to none, sadly.
5. Do extra certifications such as PMP/PRINCE2/Six Sigma add any value to your application?

Please let me know if you need any more information. Thanks in advance! Cheers!

My wife and I have seriously considered immigrating to Canada in a few years. And, we are preparing ourselves to apply for the FSW/QSW program soon.
I have a few questions about immigrating to Canada. Hope you can help with some of them.

1. How important is French while considering immigration? We are learning French at the moment, niveau A2.

I am answering this more from a practical working situation and not immigration.

Knowing French is really helpful to open up alot of opportunities. There is a small pool of people who are bi lingual and this gives you an edge. It also opens up alot of Government jobs.

If you are moving to Quebec then it is a must. In some cases in Montreal you maybe able to get a job and get by but for the rest of Quebec you cannot do without French.

I am answering this more from a practical working situation and not immigration.

Knowing French is really helpful to open up alot of opportunities. There is a small pool of people who are bi lingual and this gives you an edge. It also opens up alot of Government jobs.

If you are moving to Quebec then it is a must. In some cases in Montreal you maybe able to get a job and get by but for the rest of Quebec you cannot do without French.

Thanks for the encouraging words, mate. Much appreciated!
Your profile location says Toronto, so I'd like to ask you whether you have immigrated or are working there, currently?

As much as we would like to learn French, it is turning out to be a tough nut to crack!
Plus, the IT life does mean that we hardly get enough time to revise and be thorough with French.
Nevertheless, we have completed level 1 last month, graduated with good marks, and have already started with level 2.

We don't know how hard it might be later, job hunting while applying for the FSW/QSW programmes.
So, we are about to commence pursuing certification programmes after April.
A masters degree, albeit done via distance education, is also on the cards.

Thanks for the encouraging words, mate. Much appreciated!
Your profile location says Toronto, so I'd like to ask you whether you have immigrated or are working there, currently?

As much as we would like to learn French, it is turning out to be a tough nut to crack!
Plus, the IT life does mean that we hardly get enough time to revise and be thorough with French.
Nevertheless, we have completed level 1 last month, graduated with good marks, and have already started with level 2.

We don't know how hard it might be later, job hunting while applying for the FSW/QSW programmes.
So, we are about to commence pursuing certification programmes after April.
A masters degree, albeit done via distance education, is also on the cards.

Hope these will help

I had migrated a long time ago so dont know how the new laws are.

If you are pursuing a masters degree please check to see if its recognized in Canada.Else you may have to do a bridge course again which is more studying. I would suggest reaching out to a university here and tell them what you are planning to do and if they can suggest what courses will be needed to bring it to Canadian standards.

I would still suggest to keep French on your list as a priority. Masters is an investment as well again depending on what your goals are. Again the government has a seperate website for jobs for people with a masters degree.

Immigrating is not easy but with some planning and hard work its well worth it. There alot of challenges and days you will want to quit and go back.But if you stick it through you will see its a better life.

Immigrating is not easy but with some planning and hard work its well worth it. There alot of challenges and days you will want to quit and go back.But if you stick it through you will see its a better life.

So true!

Some days it just seems futile considering we are locking away our weekends, trying to learn French, not going on long drives and vacations, etc etc, all for a cause that may or may not be fruitful in the future.

Still, hanging in there, with a glimmer of hope and the goal set firmly into our heads.
If we ever make it to Canada, will give you a holler . Thanks again!

My wife and I have seriously considered immigrating to Canada in a few years. And, we are preparing ourselves to apply for the FSW/QSW program soon.
I have a few questions about immigrating to Canada. Hope you can help with some of them.

1. How important is French while considering immigration? We are learning French at the moment, niveau A2.
2. Does a masters degree help in getting better points while applying for the Visa? We are B.Tech's with 7+ years of experience in IT.
3. If neither of us(wife and I) have worked before in Canada, does that substantially reduce chances of Immigration?
4. Best possibility of immigrating to Canada, through consultancy? Or the FSW/QSW visa programme? Chances of getting a job through our companies in Canada are next to none, sadly.
5. Do extra certifications such as PMP/PRINCE2/Six Sigma add any value to your application?

Please let me know if you need any more information. Thanks in advance! Cheers!

Before replying to the points enumerated above, let me tell you at the outset that your most dependable literature for Canadian immigration is: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/eligibility.asp. In fact, I would go only by that. You can navigate to a lot of other pages from that link. Likewise, please visit http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp to know the various programs offered and which one suits the best to you and family.
That said, let me answer your questions in the same order they are asked, only from the perspective of my experience and knowledge gathered from that. Please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have. Good luck.

1. French is one of the official languages of Canada. So learning French will only be to your advantage. Your prospect of getting a job where French is more common / only language in Canada is high if you know French. Moreover, the points system (when I applied) did give points for knowing French. However, in order to obtain points for French, you’re required to take a language test that CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) accepts and get scores that give you adequate points. If the primary applicant’s knowledge in English, again to be proved by taking required scores in CIC acceptable English test(s), is good enough very likely you don’t need to know Frech. This is purely from a points’ perspective. Please note: points system operates in a binary manner. That’s to say, if you’re required to get x points out of 100 in order to qualify to apply of immigration, all that scored x or more falls under the ‘Qualified for PR’ category while the rest falls under the ‘Not qualified’ category. It does not matter by how many points you exceed the required ‘x’ points. The additional points (over the required 'x') do NOT increase your prospect of getting a PR status.
2. If you’re referring to a PR visa, yes, going by my application (4 years ago!), your master’s degree helps you get additional points.
3. No – it substantially does not. However, there are points awarded for Canadian experience. All applicants who have got the PR status before even landing Canada, like myself, have had enough points without the Canadian experience.
4. My personal suggestion (but it’s just me – Ok? ): Do NOT go through a consultancy. That definitely does not enhance your chances. I personally know a friend of mine who came to Canada for studies and applied for PR through a desi consultant. They completely goofed up her application; not only did she lose the chance but the money too. They did not even return her money. I don’t mean to say all consultants are bad. If you must go with one, do your due diligence in picking one by personal recommendations or authentic reviews. But, all information you’re required to know is available in the CIC site. I did it myself but it took me a few months to gather all the required documents. So, finally, choice is yours. Regarding which of the 2 programs – FSW or QSW – is better, I don’t know the answer; sorry.
5. They don’t give you additional points for qualifying to apply for PR – at least as far as I recall from my experience. As you may agree, certifications in your line of job would be in your advantage for finding a job.

Finally, if you care to know the prospect of finding a job or the pros and cons of migrating to Canada, I’m ready to provide as much info as I’ve (but only based on my experience). Again, good luck my friend.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my queries! I really appreciate it. .
As per the websites you have provided, both seem to suggest that we might be eligible to come to Canada with an Open Work Permit. Need to find more about that.

1. Regarding French, we are pursuing our studies from Alliance Française of Madras. We are being taught as per the DELF pattern. We will be completing DELF A2 by June '14.

2. Hopefully, we will commence our masters program in a month or two.

3. Since applying for a P.R is still some time away, we are looking to get some experience of working in Canada. Hope that will improve our chances.

4. We don't know many people who have migrated to Canada successfully. Hence we thought of a consultancy. Will do our due diligence before taking up the case with one.

5. I guess the extra certifications will come into play, provided our application is accepted, when we have to look for jobs in Canada.

Anyways, thanks again for all the help. Would definitely like to keep in touch with you in the times to come.

Guys, I am planning to migrate to Dubai.
...
Choice of industry is not very important. That is, I am not adamant that I will work only in the Automotive industry.

You have NOT mentioned the kind of industry you want to work in. I suggest, you select those where you fit first and also register and search jobs thru sites like naukrigulf or bayt. This will give you a fair idea of the market in Dubai.

I am a software engineer and when I was looking for a job in the middle east, I particularly found Dubai to be really good while other countries like Oman / Kuwait / Saudi Arabia had much lesser opportunities. The payment also was the best compared to other GCC countries.

Though I was in Muscat for 3 months, it was unfortunate that I did NOT get even a single call / interview from anywhere else though I applied for numerous positions in Dubai / Kuwait / SA etc.

I wish you the very best and pray that you get thru. That's a paradise for us enthusiasts and frankly that was the ONLY reason I wanted to be there.

Congrats Deepak! I got my OZ immiration in January 2013 but still haven't been able to make a move due to some commitments. I am also planning to do it around the same time frame. Have you looked at the job opportunities there?

You have NOT mentioned the kind of industry you want to work in. I suggest, you select those where you fit first and also register and search jobs thru sites like naukrigulf or bayt. This will give you a fair idea of the market in Dubai.

I am okay with the following industries -

Automotive (but of course!)

Aviation

Logistics

Heavy machinery

But I am okay with other industries as well, except banking and insurance.